1 · Moving a shape
A shape can move in three ways: it can slide, flip, or turn. After any of these moves it is still the same shape and the same size. Only its place or the way it faces has changed.
Think of a sticker. You can push it across the page, peel it off and put it on backwards, or spin it. It is the same sticker every time.
2 · Slide
A slide pushes the shape along a straight line: right, left, up, down, or on a slant. The shape does not spin and does not get mirrored. It faces the same way before and after.
So after a slide, the shape looks exactly the same. Only its spot is different.
3 · The slide check
Test questions love to ask, "Which picture shows the sticker after it slides?" Then they show a mirror image next to the real answer, hoping you pick it.
Here is the check: after a slide, the picture must match the start exactly. If the opening, the point, or the foot faces a different way, that was a flip or a turn, so it was never a slide.
4 · Flip
A flip turns the shape over a line, like folding the paper along a crease. The result is a mirror image: whatever pointed left now points right.
The dashed line is the fold line. Each point of the shape lands the same distance from the line on the other side.
5 · Turn
A turn spins the shape around a point, like the hand of a clock around its center. A quarter turn is one corner of a square, like a clock hand going from 12 to 3. A half turn is two quarter turns: the shape ends up upside down. A three-quarter turn is three, and four quarter turns bring it all the way back to the start.
After a turn, nothing is mirrored. The shape is just tilted.
6 · Which way? Clockwise and counterclockwise
Clockwise is the way clock hands go: top, right, bottom, left. Counterclockwise is the opposite way.
A quarter turn clockwise and a quarter turn counterclockwise give different pictures. A half turn is the same picture either way, because both ways land upside down.
7 · Flip or half turn?
These two get mixed up the most. Both change where the shape points, so look at the whole shape. After a half turn the shape is upside down: what was on top is now on the bottom and what was on the left is now on the right. After a flip only one of those swaps.
Trace it with your finger: spin the paper half way around (turn), or fold it over (flip). They do not land in the same place.
8 · Naming the move
Given a before and an after, ask two questions. Does it face the same way? If yes, it was a slide. Is it a mirror image? If yes, it was a flip. Otherwise it is tilted, so it was a turn.
Then say how much: a quarter turn puts it on its side, a half turn puts it upside down.
9 · What a move never changes
A slide, a flip, or a turn never makes a shape bigger, smaller, or stretched. It never adds or takes away a side. If the "after" picture is a different size or a different shape, then it is not one of the three moves at all.
That is why the moved shape is always congruent to the start: same size and same shape, just placed differently.
10 · Shapes that look the same after a turn
Some shapes look exactly the same after a half turn. A rectangle, a square, and a four-point star all do: turn them upside down and nothing seems to change. A heart or a trapezoid does not; upside down it looks different.
A square even looks the same after a quarter turn. Questions like "Which shape looks the same turned upside down?" are asking exactly this.
11 · Test tips
Read the move word first. Slide: pick the picture that matches the start exactly. Flip: pick the mirror image. Turn: pick the tilted one, and count the quarters (a quarter turn is on its side, a half turn is upside down).
Cross off any choice that is a different size or shape. Then check the one that is left by tracing the move with your finger. You are ready for the test! 🎉
Ready to practice?
Take the 22-question test. It starts easy and builds to harder, ISEE-style reasoning. It's auto-scored, and you can review every answer afterward.